Dr Doreen Bridges AM FACE

Dr Bridges, née Jacobs, was a student at the University of Adelaide and was awarded the first Australian doctorate in the field of music education. She taught at a Sydney University and later was a Senior Lecturer at what is now the Institute of Early Childhood in Sydney. She now resides in Adelaide.

Doreen is a widely recognized as a distinguished and versatile music educator and researcher who has taught at all levels of education. She was appointed to the Research Commission of the International Society for Music Education. She is also an honorary member of the Australian Society for Music Education, and Patron of Dalcroze Australia an approach in which she was very active since her youth.

Doreen is also an Honorary Life Member of the Kodály Music Education Institute of Australia. Her evaluation and endorsement of Dr Deanna Hoermann’s Developmental Music Program, presented at the Fourth International Kodály Symposium of the International Kodály Society in Sydney in 1979, was an eye opener for many music educators. She has since then co-authored several very successful classroom music program books with Dr Hoermann, including Catch a Song. She has also presented at KMEIA events and her work has been published in the Australian Kodály Journal. A few highlights are listed below.

Aural training in the 21st century (2006)

Outcomes of a Developmental Program (2010). A paper presented at the 1979 IKS Fourth Symposium in Sydney.

Kodály’s Principles in Practice: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (2011). A paper presented at the opening session of the 11th National Summer School of the Kodály Music Education Institute of Australia, Sydney, January 12, 1997.

Dr Jason Goopy and Ann Carroll

Honorary Life Members

Latest News

1000 Active Members!

Dear Members I am pleased to share that Kodály Australia recently recorded over 1000 active members in our database. This is an incredible achievement for our community and worthy of acknowledgement.  Please know that your continued membership of Kodály Australia …
Read more

Cuskelly College of Music Summer Music Program 2025

The Cuskelly College of Music has announced details of the 2025 Summer School Music Program to be held at St Laurence’s College in Brisbane from Monday, 6 January to Friday, 17 January 2025. An extensive and rich program is on …
Read more

Kodály Australia Member Update

Dear Members I am pleased to provide members with an update on the recent activities of the Institute. Kodály Australia Conference 2024 Congratulations, Kodály Victoria, for hosting an outstanding Kodály Australia Conference in Naarm/Melbourne last month. It was incredibly inspiring …
Read more

New Membership Portal

Kodály Australia has moved to a new membership database service called Wild Apricot. The change is required because our GameDay system is no longer fit for our purpose.  What does this mean for Kodály Australia members? Effective immediately, online membership applications and …
Read more

IKS Scholarship

The International Kodály Society (IKS) offers fee waiver scholarships to support participation in Kodály-inspired professional development. The closing date for the next round is 1 November 2024. Complete information, including selection criteria and eligibility, is available on the IKS website. I …
Read more